Santa Claus Christianity

Recently I saw piles and piles of stuff someone was hoarding. It included unopened junk mail and receipts from oil changes 14 years ago. I also talked to someone who was discarding cancelled checks from 35 years ago. Why do people hoard junk? Because they believe this life is it, and they don’t want the memory of anything to be lost. Many of these people are even ‘christians’. But their faith is about as strong as a lottery ticket holder has in winning the lottery. They hope its true. Boy, I’d sure like a free, easy ticket to heaven. After all, didn’t Jesus do all the hard work? All we need is simple belief and faith, and an eternity of floating around praising God awaits us. But wait,

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” James 2:19-20

Real faith comes with works. Not sit ups or Hail Mary’s, but –

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrew 10:24

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

And, let’s not forget the works of forgiveness and repentance. These are the fruits of true faith – faith in a God who will bring us back to life, even eternal life.